On the surface, James Johnson had little reason to chide his Virginia Tech basketball team, little reason to raise his blood pressure, abuse his vocal cords and summon his inner drill sergeant.

Indeed, the Hokies were making his rookie season as a head coach a snap. Their 7-0 start was not only the ACC's most surprising but also included an upset of No. 15 Oklahoma State, the program's first non-conference victory over a ranked opponent since 1995.

But Johnson knew Tech's initial burst was a mirage. He understood all too well his team's deficiencies: rebounding, defense and lack of depth.

Sure enough, the Hokies have skidded, dropping two of three, including a 78-73 head-scratcher Saturday at home to Georgia Southern. More troubling for Johnson: Sixth man Marshall Wood, a freshman forward, broke a bone in his left foot Saturday, leaving Tech with seven available scholarship players.

That Wood's 5.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 18.3 minutes per game leave such a void speaks to the Hokies' roster, depleted by the offseason departures of Dorian Finney-Smith to Florida and Montrezl Harrell to Louisville.

Yet with a fifth-gear offense showcasing senior Erick Green, Tech raced, literally and figuratively, to its best start in 30 years. Then came a 68-67 defeat at West Virginia, a pedestrian 70-49 victory over Mississippi Valley State and the loss to Georgia Southern.

"It was bound to come at some point," Johnson said. "We couldn't shoot lights out all the time."

Indeed, in their first seven games, the Hokies shot 48.3 percent overall, 40.4 from beyond the 3-point arc. They haven't shot better than 48 percent for a season since 1986.

In their last three games, the Hokies are shooting 39.9 percent and 22.8 from 3. Some teams can overcome such numbers with fierce rebounding and defense. Not this one.

Cadarian Raines and C.J. Barksdale are new starters inside, leaving small forward Jarell Eddie (7.2 boards per game) to do the heavy lifting on the glass. Not ideal for someone who's 6-foot-7 and a lean 218 pounds.

"We haven't rebounded the ball well all year, to be honest," Johnson said.

So encouraging start aside, Johnson was not shy about barking at his players.

"It wasn't a shock when I went in there yelling and screaming about rebounding" after Georgia Southern, he said.

Playing bad cop is among the myriad transitions first-time bosses face. You have to push and challenge players and staff like never before, sometimes in uncomfortably harsh tones.

Add the burdens of the season's first slump, this week's final exams and a weekend tournament in Las Vegas, and you have all the ingredients for Johnson's initial test.

"This is uncharted waters," he said Monday. "They looked a little down" in practice.

The Hokies (8-2) depart Wednesday for Saturday's game against Bradley — the Braves are 7-2 following Monday's 62-43 dusting of Georgia Southern. Tech plays either Colorado State (7-2) or Portland (5-6) on Sunday.

Following a quick holiday break backhome, the Hokies will fly west again for a Dec. 29 game at Brigham Young, their final non-conference contest before opening ACC play Jan. 5 at Maryland.

Without Wood — his injury doesn't require surgery, but his absence is indefinite — sophomore walk-on Christian Beyer will need to contribute more. Most important, no one in the frontcourt can afford foul trouble.

Despite the depth issues, Johnson has no plans to slow the offense and preserve players' legs.

"It's too much of a struggle for us to score in half-court," he said.

Eddie, in particular, is far less effective at tortoise pace. He's averaging 15.4 points and shooting 44.2 percent from beyond the arc, in large measure because transition offense allows him to spot up on the wings and in corners.

At a slower tempo, Eddie has to create shots off the dribble, not his strength.

Meanwhile, Green is scoring in every way manageable. He ranks second nationally at 24.8 points per game, is shooting 51.7 percent and had 49 assists and only 20 turnovers.

In short, he's playing like an All-American.

And therein rests Johnson's greatest concern.

Green "hasn't had an off night yet," he said. "What are we going to do then?"

David Teel can be reached at 757-247-4636 or by email at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/ teeltime and follow him at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP

Roughly one-third through the regular season, Virginia Tech guard Erick Green leads the ACC – he’s lapping the field, in fact – and ranks second nationally in scoring at 24.8 points per game. The primary question is, what are his chances of maintaining, or even exceeding, that pace?

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